Review for April 2025

The PROBUS Club of Blue Mountain Meeting Review is published following each regular meeting providing members with a summary of any meetings they may have missed. Prior Reviews can easily be found under the Meeting Reviews Tab above.

PROBUS Club of Blue Mountain

Friendship, Fellowship, and Fun

Thursday April 17th

President’s Comments

Michael began the meeting by gladly welcoming our members back from their warmer US vacation spots and getting involved in our spring/summer events. However, he did mention concerns about recent treats made to Canada’s sovereignty: tariff announcements made on Liberation Day, the chaotic week for global economies and stock markets with the on again/off again tariff announcements from the White House. This created massive uncertainty for business and resentment against the US. This brought a reawakening of Canadian national identity and a need to develop some short term solutions such as: a resolve to take action to protect jobs, buy Canadian, stop travel to the US and eliminate inter-provincial trade barriers in the short-term. Longer term solutions that we need to develop are to establish international trading partners and build pipelines to our east and west coasts. Michael wanted our members to be knowledgeable about what is occurring in our country and refer to “Elbows UP Toronto” as an example of our country coming together.

Michael Coward michael.coward@gmail.com

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New Members

Larry Hall welcomed new guest Tom Hall to our PROBUS Blue Mountain meeting. Welcome Tom!

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Rob Franklin with Ron Mitchell
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Michael Coward, Ron Woodman, Dan Edwards

Tales of Interest

Ron Emo brought to our attention The Legacy of William Gibbard, pioneer surveyor in the 1850’s and assassinated in the line of duty. He was involved in bringing the railway to Collingwood and responsible for widening of the main street of Collingwood to 99 feet, which was not done at that time thus giving Collingwood our beautiful main street today.

Activity Announcements

Michael spoke to the following activities/events:

  • Lunch Group – May 14, noon – Iron Skillet - Chris
  • Cycling Group
    • May 13 - Wasaga Dunes – Dan Edwards Dan Edwards and Jack Pady
    • May 20 – Collingwood – Thornbury - Dan Edwards
  • Paddling Group
    • Apr. 24 – Collingwood Harbour -Dave Humbley
    • May 8 – Lake Eugenia – Dave Humbley
  • Bridge Club – first and third Thursday of each month – at the Legion – George Powell
  • Golf Tournament – Thurs., June 12 – Duntroon – Dave Thomson
  • MacLean Engineering Tour – July 10 – 4-5 pm – Stephen
  • GEORGIAN PROBUS TRAVEL GROUP
    • Muskoka Cruise – July 10-11, 2025
    • Rideau Summer Cruise – Sept. 6-11, 2025
    • Manitoulan Island/Agawa Canyon Train Tour – Sept. 29- Oct. 3, 2025
    • Morocco Trip – Apr. 10-24, 2026

PLEASE CHECK THE PROBUS NEWSLETTER FOR MORE INFO CONCERNING THESE ACTIITIES

ALSO, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE FILLED OUT WAIVER FORMS BEFORE GETTING INVOLVED IN ANY ACTIVITY!

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Kultural Attaché - Bill Barclay

Bill dedicated this month’s jokes to Walter Barcley, who passed away last month.

Bill’s jokes for this month involved: couples having to abstain from sex for 2 weeks to be able to join a church, a son making a deal with his father on when he could use the car after just getting his license, 3 brothers living in the same house who all had dementia, an elementary school teacher trying to get her students from talking “baby talk”, and finally the “pig” joke, that kept us entertained with laughter.

Bill also introduced us to a trivia challenge related to Canadian history which I believe the members enjoyed. This, I think could be introduced to our meetings each month with a different topic each month, if Bill agrees to it!

Thanks Bill!

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Speaker

Steve McGill introduced this month’s guest speaker, Sean Patrick Dolan, a local author and retired educator who now lives in Thornbury. Sean talked about his first book, My Father’s Secret, a novel that was inspired by an historical event, the Air India bombing, in 1985. He detailed the steps involved in writing this book by using real life events, characters, incompetencies and blunders. These made it very interesting to read.

His second book, The Prophet of Frogs Hollow, is a book of fiction about a cult that lands in the Golden Triangle. Sean talked about why he based it on a cult and why he referenced areas from Toronto to the Golden Triangle as its backdrop. This book is due May 1.

Thanks Sean!

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50/50 Draw

The winners were:

  • Doug Wannamaker
  • Dunc Hawkins

Next Meeting May 15th at the Legion.

The PROBUS Club of Blue Mountain Meeting Review is published after each regular meeting. Content is provided by Meeting Review Editor, Dale White, and Webmaster Bill Booth makes it all look presentable.

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